Jonathan Roselle, a South Whitehall Township police officer, faces voluntary manslaughter charges in the July 28 shooting of Joseph Santos, said Jim Martin, the Lehigh County district attorney.

"He did not have to discharge that weapon," Martin said in a statement

The 33-year-old officer, who served in the U.S. Army and had been on patrol for five months, shot Santos five times, Martin said. Santos was unarmed. The death was ruled a homicide by the Lehigh Valley Coroner's Office.

"In my opinion, this was the act of a relatively inexperienced officer who held a subjective fear for his own safety, but made a decision which objectively was unreasonable in light of the facts as they existed and appeared at the time he discharged his weapon and killed Mr. Santos," Martin said in the statement. "I offer my sincere condolences to the family of Mr. Santos."

In the hours after the shooting, Roselle told the first responding officer that he messed up and he "didn't know what to do" because Santos kept coming at him, Martin said while reading from a police report.

Roselle's attorney Gavin Holihan said in a statement that police officers face challenges that may require split-second decisions .

"Officer Roselle believes now, as he did on July 28, that his actions were justified and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances evident at the time," Holihan said. "He respects the system of justice he has sworn to uphold, and he eagerly awaits the opportunity to be heard at trial."

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Roselle was wearing a body camera, Martin said. But he declined to make that recording and a dashboard camera recording public, saying they are evidence. Roselle has been with the department since December and had 13 weeks of training.

The officer turned himself in to authorities and was released on bail, Martin said. Roselle was placed on administrative leave but didn't say whether he is being paid.

The decision to charge Roselle with voluntary manslaughter instead of murder was because murder required malice, Martin said.

During a press conference the night of the shooting, Martin said he used a poor choice of phrasing when he said Roselle had to discharge his weapon.

"It did not and does not indicate that I had a bias in examining the facts, reviewing the investigation or making a charging decision," Martin said. "It is clearly obvious at this point that I have reached an opposite conclusion."

In addition to a firearm, Roselle had a baton, pepper spray and a taser, which Martin said was functional.

"This is just one step on the road to justice," Adanjesus Martin, director of Make the Road PA, said in a statement in response to Roselle's charges. "We also recognize the indictment of this officer does not address the overarching problem of police who resort to deadly force as their first option."

On the evening of July 28, a woman in a car pulled alongside a vehicle that officer Roselle was in. Based on a video recorded at the time, Martin described her behavior as "hysterical" or "frantic." The woman told Roselle that a man, later identified as Santos, had tried to enter her vehicle while she was driving in South Whitehall Township near Dorney Park.

When Roselle encountered Santos, the 44-year-old pounded on the driver's side of the police vehicle and mounted the hood of the squad car, Martin said. Santos was bleeding.

Roselle got out of the car and Santos headed toward him, but he "did not present a threatening posture," Martin said. Roselle told Santos to get down on the ground, but he didn't comply.

Roselle pointed his gun at Santos, and Santos was heard on video telling the officer, "Don't do it," before the shots were fired.

Santos was taken to a local hospital, but he couldn't be saved.

The killing of Santos led dozens of people to protest at the site where he was shot.

Before Tuesday's announcement of criminal charges against Roselle, the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said in a statement that the officer in the shooting should be fired. The chapter also demanded integration of the South Whitehall Police Department, citing a lack of diversity.